Issued by India

Issued on Dec 31, 2017

Issued for : Department of Posts is pleased to release a Commemorative Postage Stamp on Justice Mehr Chand Mahajan.

Credits :
Stamp/FDC/Brochure : Sh. Sankha Samanta
Cancellation Cachet : Smt. Nenu Gupta

Type : Stamp, Mint Condition

Colour : Multi Colour

Denomination : 500 Paise

Stamps Printed : 604500

Printing Process : Wet Offset

Printer : Security Printing Press, Hyderabad

Name : Mehr Chand Mahajan

Born on 23 Dec, 1889 at Tika Nagrota, Kangra district, Punjab, British India [now Himachal Pradesh, India]

Died on 1967

About : 

• Mehr Chand Mahajan was the third Chief Justice of India. His contributions for both on and off the Bench, will always remain a philosophical stimulus for the legal fraternity. Law Reports are a testimony of his work as a judge. He authored many famous decisions and landmark cases. Justice Mahajan made his name as an accomplished lawyer, a respected judge, and an influential politician.
• Justice Mehr Chand Mahajan was born in a small village called Tika Nagrota in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh in 1889. His father, Lala Brij Lal, was an advocate, who later established a reputed legal practice at Dharamsala. After completing middle school, he went to study in the Government College, Lahore, graduating in 1910. He enrolled in M.Sc. Chemistry, but switched to law following persuasion from his father. He earned an L.L.B. degree in 1912 from the Punjab University, Lahore and started his legal practice at Dharamsala. Soon, he shifted to Gurdaspur. It was at Gurdaspur, that he attained recognition as a lawyer. He thereafter, moved to the Lahore High Court. Within a few years, he became a leading advocate at Lahore, where he argued many important cases and was President, High Court Bar Association, Lahore from 1938-43. Mehr Chand Mahajan was appointed judge of Punjab High Court in September 1943. As a permanent judge, he superseded two sitting judges, one of whom was an Englishman, on the recommendation of the then Chief Justice, Sir Trevor Harries.
• Maharaja Hari Singh, the ruler of Jammu and Kashmir (in May 1947), sent Maharani Tara Devi and his son, Dr. Karan Singh, to meet Justice Mahajan, to offer him the post of Prime Minister. Justice Mahajan’s name was proposed by Sardar Patel – the then Home Minister of India. Before the offer could fructify, Justice Mahajan was made a member of the Radcliffe Commission as an Indian National Congress nominee. As a member of the Commission, he made a momentous contribution, by persuading Lord Mountbatten, to award Gurdaspur (initially awarded to Pakistan), to India. Justice Mahajan’s suggestion, that River Ravi should be made the boundary, dividing India and Pakistan was also accepted. Only, because Gurdaspur is a part of India, it became possible for India to make a road and rail link, connecting Jammu & Kashmir, with the rest of the country.
• After the Radcliffe award, Justice Mahajan who was Judge of the High Court of East Punjab joined the post of Prime Minister of Jammu & Kashmir, in September 1947. Justice Mahajan’s role in persuading Maharaja Hari Singh, to take the decision regarding the accession of Jammu & Kashmir with India, cannot be forgotten.
• On 1^st October 1948 Sh. Mahajan took the oath of office as a Judge of the Federal Court later known as the Supreme Court when the Constitution of India came into force on 26^th January 1950. Justice Mehr Chand Mahajan took over as the third Chief Justice of India on January 4, 1954.
• His three famous writings were titled “Preserving Unity of India”, “How to Increase Food Production”, and “Kashmir’s Accession to India”.
• A nationalist to the core, he was a person with strong convictions. He propagated his belief with determination. Though a pre-eminent Judge and Jurist, he was also an administrator of exceptional merit.
• Text : Based on the material received from proponent.

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Issued by India

Issued on Dec 8, 2008

Issued for : Department of Posts is happy to issue a commemorative postage stamp on Dr. Laxmi Mall Singhvi.

Credits :
Stamp & FDC : Bharati Mirchandani
Cancellation : Alka Sharma

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Colour : Multi colour

Denomination : 500 Paise

Stamps Printed : 0.4 Million

Printing Process : Wet–offset

Printer : Security Printing Press, Hyderabad

Name : Laxmi Mall Singhvi

Born on Nov 9, 1931 at Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India

Died on Oct 6, 2007 at New Delhi, India

About : 

• Dr. Laxmi Mall Singhvi was a remarkably multifaceted personality. He was an eminent jurist, renowned constitutional expert, an acclaimed diplomat, a distinguished parliamentarian, a highly respected intellectual, prominent exponent of human rights, a doyen of the Indian Bar, a citizen-statesman, an author, poet, publicist, linguist and a litterateur and, above all, a man of ideas and an institution builder.
• Dr. Singhvi was born on 9 November 1931 in Jodhpur. He was the second son of Sri Dasharath Mal Singhvi, a well known lawyer and freedom fighter from Jodhpur. This “Saraswati Putra” (As a former Prime Minister of India characterized him) was a brilliant student who got scholarships continuously from class six onwards till his Ph.D. He was conferred the “Sahitya Vachaspati” (equivalent to MA) at the unprecedented age of 19. He was a prolific writer and poet from his teens. A gold medalist in BA from Allahabad University and LLB & MA from Jaipur University, he was Rajasthan’s first Rotary Scholar to Harvard University for the LL.M. He did his PhD from Cornell University, USA in a record 2 years and was appointed to the teaching faculty at Berkeley, California. He cut short a promising academic career and returned to India in 1957 at his father’s insistence. Dr. Singhvi held honorary doctorates from the Universities of Rajasthan, Allahabad, Calcutta, Delhi, Osmania, Andhra and Jabalpur.
• He was a leading Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of India and was President of the apex Court’s Bar Association for four terms. He conceived and founded “Law Day”, now universally observed on November 26 each year throughout the country. Dr. Singhvi’s Report on the Independence of Justice and his Draft Universal Declaration on the Independence of Justice (1978), written as UN Special Rapporteur on the subject, received worldwide acclaim. His Guidelines for the Independence of the Judiciary, are officially known globally as the “Singhvi Principles”. In 1987, Dr. Singhvi was elected Honorary Bencher and Master of the Middle Temple, one of the highest honours in the U.K. Dr. Singhvi was fluent in Sanskrit, could converse in it and had a deep knowledge of India’s scriptures through the ages. Dr. Singhvi has been acknowledged as a spellbinding orator in both Hindi and English.
• Dr. Singhvi was the longest serving High Commissioner for India in the United Kingdom (1991-97). This period was regarded as the golden phase of Indo-British relationship. He established the Nehru Centre in London, now the hub of India’s cultural diplomacy. Several academic courses, chairs of lectures had been established in Dr. Singhvi’s name in different British Universities including Hull, Edinburgh, Wales, London, and Leicester. Dr. L.M. Singhvi Centre for Indian Studies has been established at Hull University and Dr. L.M. Singhvi Foundation has also been established in London with the active patronage and association of the Lord Chancellor, Speaker of the House of Commons, the Lord Chief Justice, the Master of the Rolls and Lord Templeman. In U.K., Dr. Singhvi was conferred Rotary International’s first Ambassador of Excellence award and also the U Thant Peace Award.
• Dr. Singhvi was elected to the Third Lok Sabha as an Independent Member for Jodhpur and became known as an outstanding parliamentarian who held many prominent posts with considerable distinction. As Chairman of the Government of India Committee on Revitalization of Panchayati Raj Institutions, his recommendations and draft amendments have been incorporated into the Constitution by the 73^rd Constitutional Amendment. He crusaded for the ombudsman system in India and was the inventor and coiner of the words “Lokpal” and “Lokayukta”.
• Dr. Singhvi was elected Honorary Tagore Law Professor in 1973 at Calcutta University, one of the oldest and most highly regarded Chairs in the world in the field of Law, and was the Founder-President (now Honorary Patron) of the Commonwealth Legal Education Association, London. He was elected as Mahatma Gandhi Professor at Leicester University. Dr. Singhvi was associated with and consulted in the drafting of the constitutions of Bangladesh, Nepal and South Africa.
• He was honoured with the “Padma Bhushan” in January 1998. A quintessential man of ideas and a true Renaissance personality, Dr. Singhvi conceived of the entire diaspora movement, linking India to its children dispersed globally. As Chairman of the Government’s High Powered Committee, Dr. Singhvi conceived, delivered and promoted the nascent movement after his seminal and comprehensive Report on the subject. He was Chairman, Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2003 and 2004. On his recommendation, the Government of India announced January 9 as Pravasi Divas and started honouring NRIs and PIOs with the “Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award”.
• Dr. Singhvi was Co-Chairman of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan International and Chairman of Pravara Mandals for Jamna Lal Bajaj and JnanPeeth Awards. The Bajaj Award is the highest Award for Gandhian work and the JnanPeeth Award is India‘s equivalent of the Nobel Prize for literature.
• Dr. Singhvi was Leader for the Indian Delegation at the UN Human Rights Conference at Vienna in 1993. In February-March 1998, he was the Leader of the Indian Delegation to the biggest ever inter-governmental conference on Culture and Development in Stockholm. Dr. Singhvi‘s pioneering and dedicated work for inter-faith amity has been acknowledged throughout the world. In 1994 he was presented with the Inter Faith Gold Medallion at the Lambeth Palace by the Archbishop of Canterbury on behalf of the International Council of Christians and Jews. Dr. Singhvi was in an acknowledged exponent of the inter-faith movement and was elected as one of the Presidents of the Centennial Parliament of World’s Religions held at Chicago in 1993 at which he delivered the keynote address.
• Dr. Singhvi was also elected in 1992 to the Rede Chair at Cambridge University, an over 500 year old extremely prestigious position at that University. He was also invited to plant a tree at the New Law Library at Cambridge University. Dr. Singhvi served as a Member of the UNESCO‘s Executive Board (2002-2005). He was Founder President of Institute of Constitutional and Parliamentary Studies (ICPS) in the early 1960s and President of Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (2000-05). He remained President of the Authors Guild of India for over a decade.
• Dr. L.M. Singhvi‘s wealth in friendships is his true legacy. Dynamic in personality, quiet in demeanour, austere in habits, unostentatious in behaviour, just in decision, prompt in action, simple in dress and empathetic in his dealings – these were the hallmarks of his personality. He is a vibrant symbol and everlasting emblem of the age old Indian intellect, culture and civilization.
• Text : Based on material supplied by the proponent.

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Issued by India

Issued on Oct 1, 2004

Issued for : The Department of Posts is proud to honour the memory of Justice M.C. Chagla.

Design Credits :
Stamp & FDC : Sankha Samanta
Cancellation : Alka Sharma

Type : Stamp, Mint Condition

Colour : Multicolour

Denomination : 500 Paise

Print Quantity : 0.6 Million

Printing Process : Photogravure

Printer : India Security Press, Nashik

Name : Mahommedali Currim Chagla

Born on Sep 30, 1900 at Mumbai, India

Died on Feb 9, 1981 at Mumbai, India

About : 

• Jurist, judge, educationist, diplomat, Union Cabinet Minister and statesman, M.C. Chagla was a multifaceted genius. Born on September 30, 1900 and educated at Bombay’s Saint Xavier’s School and Lincoln College, Oxford, England, he went on to practice Law and subsequently became the Chief Justice of the High Court of Bombay. He taught law at the Government Law College, Bombay and later became the Vice Chancellor of Bombay University. He served as a Member of the Law Commission and was ad-hoc judge of the International Court of Justice at the Hague. He was Governor of Bombay for a short spell and was India’s Ambassador to the USA for 3 years and High Commissioner for India in the UK for a year.
• As a Member of the Indian Cabinet, first as Minister of Education and later of External Affairs, he headed the Indian Delegation to the Security Council Debate on Kashmir in 1964, to the Commonwealth Education Conference, Ottawa (1964), to the General Conference of UNESCO (1964) and to the UN General Assembly (1964). He was the honorary recipient of Doctor of Law from several Universities in India and abroad. He was also given the UNESCO Award for distinguished services to Human Rights in 1978. His published works include the Indian Constitution; Law, Liberty and Life; The Individual and the State; An Ambassador Speaks; Education and the Nation; Unity and Language and his Autobiography, ‘Roses in December’.
• His life symbolised intellectual integrity, unfailing courtesy and kindliness, simplicity and humanity the hallmark of Justice Chagla and his work. His judgements were based on quality and justice. No disparaging or sarcastic remarks ever escaped his lips.
• He left his mark not only in the court of Law, but as a connoisseur of art, a fascinating public speaker and a person as deeply interested in literature as in law. On the enactment of the Constitution of India in 1950, problems without precedence were placed before Courts of Law for solution. Justice Chagla brought to these problems a balance between the rule of law and the liberty of the individual. The ideal he set before himself was that “Men must be prepared to sacrifice their individual liberty for social happiness; but for no other consideration, for nothing short of this, can liberty be called upon to make a sacrifice”. This was the ideal which he himself achieved, starting work at the Bar as “a lonely, friendless figure, without any support from solicitors at that stage, and without the support of wealth or influence”. It was this unflinching courage which led him to criticise the imposition of the Emergency, defending the independence of the judiciary and democracy.
• Justice Chagla earned abiding respect and affection of those whose lives he touched.

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Issued by India

Issued on Jan 16, 2004

Issued for : The Department of Posts honours this outstanding citizen through the release of a commemorative postage stamp.

Credits :
Stamp : Binoy Varghese
FDC : J.P. Irani
Cancellation : Alka Sharma

Type : First Day Cover

Colour : Four Colour

Denomination : 500 Paise

Overall size : 2.80 x 3.30 Cms.

Printing size : 2.80 x 3.30 Cms.

Perforation : 13 x 13

Paper : Matt Chromo

Stamps Printed : 0.4 Million

Number of Stamps per Sheet : 50

Printing Process : Photo Offset

Printer : Calcutta Security Printers

Name : Nanabhoy “Nani“ Ardeshir Palkhivala

Born on Jan 16, 1920 at Bombay, British India

Died on Dec 11, 2002 at Mumbai, India

About :

• Few jurists have wielded an influence so momentous on the Constitutional thought and history of India as Nani Ardeshir Palkhivala. Endowed with fecundity of thought, legal acumen, in-depth knowledge of the Constitutions of the world and amazing eloquence, he assiduously guarded the sanctity of the Constitution and emerged as the unquestioned champion of Fundamental Rights and people’s liberties. With his rapier-like arguments, he prevailed upon the Full Bench of thirteen judges of the Supreme Court that the Constitution of India which guaranteed fundamental freedoms to the people, was supreme and Parliament had no power to abridge those rights. This led to the historic pronouncement that though Parliament could amend the Constitution, it had no right to alter its basic structure in the case known as Kesavananda Bharati vs. State of Kerala in April 1973.
• Born on 16 January, 1920 at Mumbai, Palkhivala was a man of many parts. A lawyer by profession, he was a fellow and later Honorary Professor of the Government Law College, Mumbai for many years. He was a member of the First & Second Law Commissions of India in 1955 & 1958 respectively. He was elected Honorary Member of the Academy of Political Science, New York, for his “outstanding public service and distinguished contributions to the advancement of political science” in 1975. In September 1977, Palkhivala was appointed Ambassador of India to the United States of America. In recognition of his contributions to the defence of Constitutional liberties and human rights, he was conferred the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws in 1978 by the Princeton University, New Jersey, USA and Honorary Degree of Law by the Lawrence University, Wisconsin, USA.
• Palkhivala became a phenomenon in Indian public life with his Union Budget lectures – the largest ever public meetings on an economic subject. Beginning in 1958, his talks on the subject became an annual feature in Mumbai and other places till he last spoke on the subject in March 1994. As an author, his books on taxation, constitutional law and on India‘s heritage, have become bywords on the subjects. His noted works include ‘The Law and Practice of Income Tax‘, ‘Taxation in India‘ (published by the Harvard University in the World Tax Series), ‘The Highest Taxed Nation‘, ‘Our Constitution Defaced and Defiled‘, ‘India’s Priceless Heritage‘, and ‘We, the People‘.
• In his long and distinguished career with the Tata Group spanning four decades, Palkhivala was Chairman of Tata Consultancy Services, Tata International Ltd., Tata Infotech Ltd., the Associated Cement Companies Ltd., and was Director of Tata Sons Ltd., and several other companies. In addition to his dedicated involvement with corporate activities, he was the president of the Forum of Free Enterprise, Chairman of the Leslie Sawhny Programme of Training for Democracy, Chairman of the A.D. Shroff Memorial Trust, President of the Income-Tax Appellate Tribunal Bar Association, Mumbai, and a trustee of other charitable trusts.
• In 1997, Palkhivala was conferred the Dadabhai Naoroji Memorial Award for advancing the interests of India by his contribution towards public education, economic affairs and constitutional law. In January 1998, he was honoured by the Government of India with the second highest Civilian Award – Padma Vibhushan. The Mumbai University also conferred upon him Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws (LL.D.).
• Nani Palkhivala passed away on 11 December, 2002 and in his death, the country lost an illustrious jurist, an exemplary humanist and redoubtable champion of freedom.
• Text : Based on the material received from the sponsor.

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Issued by India

Issued on Jul 6, 2001

Issued for : Continuing with the series of stamps on great personalities who inspired the country and influenced the course of India’s National Movement, the Department of Posts is proudly releasing a set of four stamps honouring Syama Prasad Mookerjee, C. Sankaran Nair, Krishna Nath Sarmah and U Kiang Nongbah.

Design : The First Day Cover design incorporates symbols related to the life and achievements of the four personalities, as perceived by the artist.

Credits :
Stamp : Concept by Alka Sharma, based on material furnished by the sponsors.
FDC : Suresh Kumar
Cancellation : Alka Sharma

Type :  Stamp, Mint condition

Colour : Five Colour

Denomination : 400 Paise

Overall size : 3.91 x 2.90 Cms.

Printing Size :  3.55 x 2.54 Cms.

Perforation : 13 x 13

Paper : Imported Unwatermarked Stamp Paper

Stamps Printed : 0.4 million each

Number per issue sheet : 40

Printing Process : Photo Offset

Printer : Eagle Press Private Limited

Name : Sankaran Nair

Born on Jul 11, 1857 at Chettur, Madras Presidency, British India

Died on Apr 24, 1934 at Madras, British India

About : 

• C. Sankaran Nair (1857-1934) hailed from an aristocratic family in north Kerala. Making a mark as an eminent lawyer early in his career, he went on to become a Judge of the High Court of Madras, in which capacity he was considered one of the ablest. The British Government recognised his abilities and conferred many distinctions and honours upon him, culminating in a nomination to the Viceroy’s Council in 1919. Despite his admiration for the British democratic institutions, Sankaran Nair was an ardent nationalist who had the courage to speak out for his country. He was elected President of the Indian National Congress in 1897. His notes of dissent as a member of the Viceroy’s council in 1919 created quite a sensation and when he resigned from the Council in the same year in protest against the British atrocities in Punjab, he received an unprecedented ovation. He inspired others with the spirit of nationalism and strove incessantly for the devolution of power into Indian hands. He was also an educationist, an author and a social reformer.
• Text : Based on material furnished by the sponsors.

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Issued by India

Issued on Sep 28, 1997

Issued for : The Department of Posts is pleased to release a special commemorative postage stamp to mark his 250^th Birth Anniversary.

Design : The stamp features a painting of Sir William Jones by Robert Home.

Credits :
Stamp : Material provided by Asiatic society.

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Colour : Multi Colour

Denomination : 400 Paise

Overall size : 3.91 x 2.90 cms.

Printing size : 3.55 x 2.54 cms.

Perforation : 13 x 13

Paper : Imported un w/m Adhesive Gravure Coated Stamp Paper in Sheets of 50.8 x 53.5 cms.

Stamps Printed : 0.4 Million

Number per issue sheet : 35

Printing Process : Photogravure

Printer : India Security Press, Nasik

Name : William Jones

Born on Sep 28, 1746 at London, United Kingdom

Died on Apr 27, 1794 at Kolkata, India

About : 

• William Jones was born in London on 28 September 1746. In spite of an accident which permanently damaged his right eye, so that he was even advised by the doctor to give up school, Jones earned the epithet ‘great scholar’, at Harrow, where he spent his school years. At twelve, Jones knew Shakespeare’s Tempest by heart and by twenty, was proficient enough in French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Greek and Latin to compose original pieces in them. In his twelfth year, he translated into English several of Ovid’s epistles and all Virgil’s pastorals.
• Jones’ first year in college was marked by his study of Arabic. By 1768 he had acquired such a reputation for oriental scholarship that King Christian VII of Denmark asked him to translate the history of Nadir Shah, the Tarikh-i-Nadiri, into French. He later turned to the Bar and was admitted to the Temple on 19 September 1770. At the Bar too, he distinguished himself and his “Essay on the Law of Bailments”, published in 1781, was regarded as a classic at the time.
• A great pioneer and the founding father of Indology and Oriental studies, Sir William Jones founded the Asiatic Society in 1784 with the objective of research in ancient history and chronology. In the special centenary meeting of the Asiatic Society in 1884, it was said “if Sir William Jones had done nothing else but translate the laws of Manu, and invent a system of transliteration which forms the basis of that now adopted by all scholars…… he would have immortalised his name; but he was what in Sanskrit we call nana–sastra–visaradh”. The subject of a uniform system of transliteration has been reconsidered from time to time, and only minor changes are made in Jones’ system. Jones laid the foundations of the disciplines of Comparative Mythology and Comparative Philology, or the Science of Linguistics.
• Jones’ paper “On the Chronology of the Hindus” presented to the Society in 1788, is the first known attempt to draw up a comprehensive chronology of ancient India. Jones revived ancient Indian dramatic literature when he translated Kalidas’s “Sakuntala”, and thus introduced the Sanskrit drama to the western world. No one could then deny the merits of Indian literature. What is perhaps more important is he awakened Indians to the beauty of Indian literature.
• Jones through his indefatigable labours, resuscitated India’s ancient culture, for India. Now India could boast of any poet as great as Shakespeare, a language – that was superior to Greek and Latin, a philosophy that was truly outstanding and an advanced system of astronomy.
• Shri A.L. Basham in his preface to Shri O.P. Kejariwal’s study of “The Asiatic Society of Bengal” finds that Jones and other Indologists thus indirectly helped to lay the foundations of modern Indian nationalism. He has been termed as one of the most extraordinary men that ever figured on the stage of life. Sir William Jones was only 48, when he died.
• Text : Based on “The Asiatic Society of Bengal”, and The Discovery of India’s Past 1784-1838: O. P. Kejariwal.

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Issued by India

Issued on Feb 26, 1988

Description of Designs : The stamp, designed by India Security Press, Nashik Road, and first day cover are based on designs given by Shri M.M. Rao. The cancellation is designed by Smt. Nenu Gupta.

Type : Stamp, Mint condition

Colour : Single colour

Denomination : 60 Paise

Overall size : 4.06 x 2.73 cms.

Printing size : 3.71 x 2.38 cms.

Perforation : 13 x 13

Paper : Indigenous unwater marked adhesive P G Matt coated stamp paper

Number Printed : 10,00,000

Number per issue sheet : 40

Printing Process : Photogravure

Printed : India Security Press

Name : Benegal Narsing Rau

Born on Feb 26, 1887 at Mangaluru, Karnataka, India

Died on Nov 30, 1953 at Zurich, Switzerland

About : 

• Born on 26^th February 1887, Sir B.N. Rau had a brilliant academic career at Madras and Cambridge. Entering the Indian Civil Service in 1909, he spent 14 years in undivided Bengal and later as Legal Remembrancer and Secretary to the Legislative Assembly in Assam. In 1935 the Government of India appointed him to work out the details precedent to the introduction of Federation at the Centre under the Act of 1935. This entailed the monumental effort of revising all central and provincial statutes to fit into the new constitution.
• Marked out for his exceptional gifts and judicial balance, he was selected to settle disputes in the working conditions in the G.I.P. Railway and later distribution of the Indus waters in the dispute among some of the Northern States. B.N. Rau’s “Indus Award” became a classic in riparian rights and “equitable appointment of waters” among disputants. In 1941 Sir B.N. Rau was appointed Chairman of the Hindu Law Committee and later briefly served as Prime Minister to the Maharaja of Kashmir.
• Because of his immense scholarship in constitutional matters, Government requested his assistance in framing a new Constitution for India after the war. He accepted this, turning down a permanent Judgeship of the Calcutta High Court. He was appointed Constitutional Advisor to the Constituent Assembly in 1946 and helped draft India’s permanent Constitution. The President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, writing of him as the Constitutional Advisor, said “Sir B.N. Rau was the person who visualised the plan and laid its foundations. His services to the Constituent Assembly were appreciated even outside India.”
• He travelled widely in USA, Canada, Eire and UK, discussing with leading constitutional authorities about matters pertaining to the Constitution. He also assisted Prime Minister Aung San in framing Burma’s Constitution.
• In 1948 Sir B.N. Rau was elected Member of the International Law Commission and in 1952 to the International Court of Justice. His role at the United Nations and the respect he enjoyed as India’s Representative can best be described in the words of Justice Frankfurter: “You are one of the few people who had a deep, instinctive sense of justice. I begrudged the years you gave, I am sure conscientiously, to diplomacy and rejoiced when you took your rightful place in the Court.”
• He died in 1953 when the Lok Sabha, with Jawaharlal Nehru, then its leader, paid homage to B.N. Rau, a rare tribute to a non-member, who had been closely associated with the Constitution of the country. He is remembered as legal counsellor, law reformer and above all constitutional architect.
• Text, Courtesy: The Indian Law Institute.

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Issued by India

Issued on Mar 16, 1978

Issued for : Indian Posts and Telegraphs Department feels privileged to bring out a commemorative postage stamp in honour of this great son of India.

Type : Stamp, Mint Condition

Colour : Red–brown

Denomination : 25 Paise

Overall size : 3.91 X 2.90 cms.

Printing size : 3.55 X 2.54 cms.

Perforation : 13 x 13

Watermark : Asoka Pillar water–marked adhesive stamp paper

Number printed : 30,00,000

Number per issue sheet : 35

Printing process : Photogravure

Designed and printed at : India Security Press

Name : Nanalal Dalpatram Kavi

Born on Mar 16, 1877 at Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

Died on Jan 9, 1946 at Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

About : 

• Nanalal was born on March 16, 1877 as the fourth son of Kavishwar Dalpatram Dahyabhai, the illustrious and popular poet of the second half of the last century, who was a pioneer of modern Gujarati Poetry. After passing his M.A. Nanalal served as a Headmaster of the Princes’ School at Sadra and later joined the Rajkumar College, Rajkot. He then became the Chief Justice of the Native State of Rajkot before becoming Education Officer for the whole of Kathiawad under the British Political Agency in 1918.
  
• He hailed Mahatma Gandhi on his 50^th birthday as the Hermit of Gujarat in a memorable poem which he composed in 1919. When Mahatma Gandhi launched the Non-Cooperation Movement, Nanalal Kavi responded to it by resigning his Government post in 1921, whereafter he lived in Ahmedabad, wholly devoted to writing. He breathed his last on January 9, 1946 in adverse pecuniary circumstances, but full of glory and recognition as a gifted poet of our time.
  
• A romantic idealist in the tradition of the English romantic poets of the 19^th century, Nanalal was a lyrical poet par excellence. He also wrote a good number of plays and attempted narrative poetry on epic scale, besides other literary forms like novel, short story, biography, essay and criticism. His books number more than eighty. Though he thoroughly imbibed tradition, he was a bold experimenter, true to his romantic spirit. The rhythmic prose that he employed in his lyrical plays as well as in reflective and narrative poetry was an innovation of his in the direction of vers libre. All his writing is characterised by a distinctive diction of his own, unsurpassed in sweetness and charm, and by a consistent strain of high moral purpose coming from his poetic creed, seeing the poet as a prophet. Quite a good many lyrics of Nanalal are gems of Gujarati poetry which have enriched Gujarati literature for all time.

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Issued by India

Issued on Nov 26, 1976

Issued for : The P&T Department feels privileged to issue a commemorative stamp on Dr. Hari Singh Gour.

Type : Stamp, Postal Used

Colour : Plum

Denomination : 25 Paise

Overall size : 3.91 X 2.90 cms.

Printing size : 3.56 X 2.54 cms.

Perforation : 13 x 13

Watermark : Printed on unwatermarked adhesive stamp paper

Number printed : 30,00,000

Number per issue sheet : 35

Printing process : Photogravure

Designed and printed at : India Security Press

Name : Hari Singh Gour

Born on Nov 26, 1870 at Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, India

Died on Dec 25, 1949

About : 

• Hari Singh Gour was born on November 26, 1870 in a poor peasant family near Saugar. The family had to be supported by Hari Singh‘s eldest brother who provided an allowance of Rs. 50 per month. At the age of 10, Hari Singh won a scholarship of Rs. 2 per month which enabled him to attend a night school at Saugar. Later, with the help of another scholarship he went to Jabalpur to undertake further studies. He passed his Intermediate examination from Hislop College, Nagpur, standing first in the whole Province.
• When he was 18, Hari Singh Gour went to Cambridge University where he took Moral Sciences Tripos and Law Tripos. While in England he came to be known in literary circles as a promising poet.
• On his return to India he became a successful lawyer at Raipur. He wrote two monumental works, ‘The Law of Transfer in India‘ and ‘The Penal Law of British India‘. Another book ‘Hindu Law Code‘ published later added to his reputation as a great jurist. He was also a great social reformer and was successful in getting an Act passed to enable women to be enrolled as lawyers, while his Civil Marriage Bill of 1923 showed him to be a reformer thinking ahead of his times.
• By his determination and industry combined with a gift of oratory, Dr. Hari Singh Gour rose to eminent position in the political scene. He became a leader of the Opposition and of the Nationalist Party in the Indian Legislative Assembly. He was a Member of the Constituent Assembly that framed India’s Constitution.
• Besides being a great lawyer and jurist, Dr. Gour was also a great educationist. He organised Delhi University as its first Vice-Chancellor and was Vice-Chancellor of Nagpur University for two successive terms. One of his most important contributions was the founding of the University of Saugar in 1946 for which he made a munificent donation. He became the first Vice-Chancellor of this University and occupied this position until he passed away on December 25, 1949. He bequeathed the greater part of his life’s savings, a large fortune, to the University of Saugar. The new campus of this University laid out on the summit of Patharia Hills, with a panoramic view of the town and lake, has been built largely through the benefactions of Dr. Hari Singh Gour and is a fitting memorial to this man of great vision.

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